Thursday, November 9, 2017

Luciano Pavarotti, an Italian operatic tenor who also crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most commercially successful tenors of all time

Luciano Pavarotti, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (12 October 1935 – 6 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who also crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most commercially successful tenors of all time. He made numerous recordings of complete operas and individual arias, gaining worldwide fame for the quality of his tone, and eventually established himself as one of the finest tenors of the 20th century.[1][2]
As one of the Three Tenors, Pavarotti became well known for his televised concerts and media appearances. From the beginning of his professional career as a tenor in 1961 in Italy to his final performance of "Nessun dorma" at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin,[3] Pavarotti was at his best in bel canto operas, pre-Aida Verdi roles, and Puccini works such as La bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly. Pavarotti was also noted for his charity work on behalf of refugees and the Red Cross, amongst others. He died from pancreatic cancer on 6 September 2007.

Friday, February 3, 2017

Mick Jagger, an English singer, songwriter, actor and, the lead singer and a co-founder of the Rolling Stones

Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer, songwriter, actor and, the lead singer and a co-founder of the Rolling Stones.[1]
Jagger's career has spanned over 50 years, and he has been described as "one of the most popular and influential frontmen in the history of Rock & Roll".[3] Jagger's distinctive voice and performance, along with Keith Richards' guitar style, have been the trademark of the Rolling Stones throughout the career of the band. Jagger gained press notoriety for his admitted drug use and romantic involvements, and was often portrayed as a countercultural figure.
In the late 1960s, Jagger began acting in films (starting with Performance and Ned Kelly), to mixed reception. In 1985, he released his first solo album, She's the Boss. In early 2009, Jagger joined the electric supergroup SuperHeavy. In 1989 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2004 into the UK Music Hall of Fame with the Rolling Stones. In 2003, he was knighted for his services to popular music.

From the time that the Rolling Stones developed their anti-establishment image in the mid-1960s, Mick Jagger, with guitarist Keith Richards, has been an enduring icon of the counterculture. This was enhanced by his controversial drug-related arrests, sexually charged on-stage antics, provocative song lyrics, and his role of the bisexual Turner in the 1970 film Performance. One of his biographers, Christopher Andersen, describes him as "one of the dominant cultural figures of our time", adding that Jagger was "the story of a generation".[95]
Jagger, who at the time described himself as an anarchist and espoused the leftist slogans of the era, took part in a demonstration against the Vietnam War outside the US Embassy in London in 1968. This event inspired him to write "Street Fighting Man" that same year.[96] A variety of celebrities attended a lavish party at New York's St. Regis Hotel to celebrate Jagger's 29th birthday and the end of the band's 1972 American tour. The party made the front pages of the leading New York newspapers.

Monday, January 23, 2017

Bob Givens, an American animator, character designer and layout artist. He worked for numerous animation studios during his career, including Disney, Warner Bros. Cartoons, Hanna-Barbera and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises

 Robert "Bob" Givens (born March 2, 1918) is an American animator, character designer and layout artist. He worked for numerous animation studios during his career, including Disney, Warner Bros. Cartoons, Hanna-Barbera and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, beginning his career during the 1930s and continuing until the early 2000s. He was a frequent collaborator with director Chuck Jones, working under Jones both at Warner Bros. and Jones' own production company.
After joining Disney he worked as an animation checker on several of their short subjects (mostly involving Donald Duck), before working on their first feature-length film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.[2]
He subsequently joined Warner Bros. for his first stint at the studio, which was spent working mostly under Chuck Jones and Tex Avery. For the 1940 cartoon A Wild Hare, Avery asked Givens to redesign a rabbit character previously designed by director Ben Hardaway and character designer Charles Thorson, which Avery thought had potential, but was "too cute" in his existing design. Givens therefore created the first official design for the rabbit, now named Bugs Bunny, who would become the studio's biggest star. Givens' design was subsequently refined by fellow animator Robert McKimson (under whom Givens would frequently work in the decades ahead) two years later.
Givens's initial spell at the studio was ended when he was drafted during World War II (his last cartoon for the studio before leaving, ironically, being 1942's The Draft Horse). As part of his military service he worked with former Warner Bros. animator Rudolf Ising on military training films.[4] He subsequently returned to Warner Bros. in the 1950s and mostly worked as a layout artist under McKimson, and also Jones later on, staying with the studio until its 1954 shutdown. Unlike many of his co-workers, Givens did not rejoin the Warner Bros. studio when it eventually opened again, and worked at various studios including UPA, Hanna-Barbera and the Jack Kinney studio.[5] He returned for one last spell at Warner Bros. in the early 1960s, continuing until the studio's final shutdown, and even acting as the layout artist on False Hare, the final cartoon (in production order) made by the studio.
Givens followed most of the Warner Bros. staffers to new studio DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, while also working with Jones once more on the Tom and Jerry cartoon produced by Jones at Sib Tower 12 Productions. He continued his Looney Tunes association by working at the Warner Bros.-Seven Arts cartoon studio in the late 1960s, remaining with that studio until it shut down. Further spells at DePatie-Freleng and Hanna-Barbera followed during the 1970s, before working at the reformed Warner Bros. Animation studio on The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie, Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales and Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island. He then had spells at Filmation (whose founder, Lou Scheimer had actually worked under Givens when the two were freelancers in the 1950s) and Film Roman.
Givens did the layout from Garfield and Friends from seasons 1 through 4 from the years 1988-1992 and Bobby's World from seasons 1 through 5 from the years 1989-1994 Film Roman studios.
In the 1990s he worked with Chuck Jones once again, handling the production design duties on the Looney Tunes cartoons Jones's production company worked on for Warner Bros. His last animation credit was on 2001's Timber Wolf, a direct-to-video animated feature written and produced by Jones.Following Jones's death the following year, Givens largely retired from active animation work, though continued to teach and give animation talks well into his nineties

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Ronnie O'Sullivan, an English professional snooker and pool player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the sport's history

Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan, OBE (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker and pool player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the sport's history. He is noted for his rapid playing style, mercurial temperament and his ambivalent relationship with the sport, from which he has taken prolonged sabbaticals and repeatedly threatened to retire.
A childhood snooker prodigy, O'Sullivan macentury break at age 10, and his first maximum break at age 15. He turned professional in 1992, at the age of 16, and soon earned the nickname "The Rocket", because of his rapid playing style. He achieved his first major professional success when he won the 1993 UK Championship at the age of 17 years and 358 days, making him the youngest player ever to win a ranking title – a record he still holds. He is also the youngest player to have won the Masters, having captured his first title in 1995 at the age of 19 years and 69 days.
His record in Triple Crown events now stands at five World Championship, a record seven Masters, and five UK Championship titles. His career total of 28 ranking titles puts him in joint second place (with Steve Davis and John Higgins) behind Stephen Hendry, who has 36, and his career earnings of over £8 million put him in second place after Hendry on snooker's all-time prize-money list. O'Sullivan has held the world number one ranking on multiple occasions, most recently during the 2009/2010 season. His other achievements include ten Premier League titles and winning the Nations Cup with England in 2000.
Known as a prolific break-builder, O'Sullivan holds the record for the most competitive century breaks with 860. He also holds the record for the most ratified maximum breaks in professional competition (13), and for the three fastest competitive maximum breaks the quickest of which was compiled in 5 minutes and 20 seconds.

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Michael Owen, a former English footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United. He eas the winner of Ballon d'Or in 2001

Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is a former English footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City, as well as for the England national team. He is a regular pundit and co-commentator on BT Sport football coverage, and sometimes appears on BBC's Match of the Day as a pundit. Since retiring from football, he has become a successful racehorse breeder and owner.
The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen was born in Chester and began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997. In his first full season in the Premier League, he finished as joint top scorer with 18 goals. He repeated this the following year and was Liverpool's top goal-scorer from 1997–2004, gaining his name as a proven goal-scorer despite suffering from a recurring hamstring injury. In 2001, Liverpool won a cup treble of the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and Football League Cup, and Owen was the recipient of the Ballon d'Or. He went on to score 118 goals in 21Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.
6 appearances in the Premier League for Liverpool, and 158 goals in 297 total appearances. Regarded as one of the greatest Liverpool players, Owen came 14th in the "100 Players Who Shook The Kop", an official Liverpool fan poll. In 2004, Owen was named by
Owen moved to Real Madrid for £8 million in mid-2004; he was frequently used as a substitute. He scored 13 goals in La Liga before returning to England the following season where he joined Newcastle United for £16 million. After a promising start to the 2005–06 season, injuries largely ruled him out over the next 18 months. After his return, he became team captain and was the team's top scorer for the 2007–08 season. Newcastle were relegated in the 2008–09 season and Owen moved to Manchester United as a free agent. He spent three years at Old Trafford before joining Stoke City in September 2012. Owen is one of eight players to have scored 150 or more goals in the Premier League. He is also the youngest player to have reached 100 goals in the Premier League. On 19 March 2013, Owen announced his retirement from playing at the end of the 2012–13 season.
Internationally, Owen first played for the senior England team in 1998, becoming England's youngest player and youngest goalscorer at the time. His performance at the 1998 FIFA World Cup brought him to national and international prominence and he went on to score in UEFA Euro 2000, the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004. He is the only player to have scored in four major tournaments for England. He played at the 2006 World Cup, but suffered an injury which took him a year to recover from. Occasionally playing as captain, he is England's 11th-most-capped player and has scored a former national record (since overtaken by Wayne Rooney) of 26 competitive goals, with 40 in total from 89 appearances, most recently in 2008.